Changpeng Zhao, Founder and CEO of Binance, will speak at the Blockchain Week Summit on April 13, 2022 in Paris, France.
Benjamin Gillette | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Paris — When it comes to regulation, the world of cryptocurrencies may have changed.
Boss of several major crypto companies said CNBC regulators are beginning to take a more aggressive approach to digital currencies. Numerous crackdowns Target space.
China has banned cryptocurrencies altogether, but countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have announced moves to bring regulatory oversight to early markets.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, told CNBC as a bystander at the Paris Blockchain Week Summit.
Last year, UK regulators banned Binance from conducting domestically regulated activities, but in Singapore, after warning that the central bank may be in breach of local regulations, Binance Limited service.
In a speech opening Wednesday’s event, Zhao said the cryptographic regulatory debate had shifted from “negative” to “positive.”
Prior to Zhao’s introduction, the MC at the event referred to the crypto slang term “wagmi,” which means “all of us accomplish it.”
“Honestly, we feel some success,” he said, adding cryptography Some lifelines in Ukraine In the invasion of Russia.
However, the world of cryptocurrencies still has some ways to become widely accepted. And the fate of the industry depends heavily on the approaches adopted by various global regulatory agencies.
Government to take action
“Regulatory conditions around the world are accelerating rapidly,” Nicolas Cary, co-founder of cryptocurrency wallet maker Blockchain.com, told CNBC.
The UK government announced last week that it would introduce Stablecoin, a digital asset that tracks the prices of existing currencies such as the US dollar, into its local payment system.
UK Treasury Minister Rishi Sunak also asked the Royal Mint, which is responsible for the country’s coin production, to create a non-alternative token (NFT), the crypto world’s answer to rare collectibles.
“The UK could be a dark horse throughout this situation,” Cary told CNBC.
“After Brexit, they have some sort of policy and strategic decision,” he added. “Are they rebuilding Brussels in London or becoming Singapore in the west, inviting all this innovation, all technology, all generations of wealth, and really owning the future of the Web?”
Cryptocurrency executives told CNBC that the government wants to drive innovation around financial markets and the next generation of the Internet, known as “Web3.”
However, they are also cautious about the dark aspects of the industry, such as money laundering and other illegal transactions, and the environmental impact of energy-intensive Bitcoin mining.
In the United States, President Joe Biden recently signed a presidential directive urging government-wide coordination on digital assets. A key concern for Western regulators, according to industry insiders, is the use of digital assets to circumvent Russia’s sanctions.
“I think they’re starting to take it seriously [but] Arthur Brightman, co-founder of Tezos, a blockchain protocol comparable to Ethereum, told CNBC.
“Of course, they would have a conservative bias,” Brightman said. However, he added that only a “small portion” of cryptocurrency payments are associated with criminal activity.
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, less than 0.2% of digital currency transactions in 2021 were illegal.
Attractive attack
France is “very progressive and very welcoming to cryptocurrencies,” Binance’s Zhao told CNBC. “They are far more advanced in their understanding.”
This week, Binance unveiled its “Web3 and crypto” startup accelerator program, which has become a hit in Paris and has partnered with business incubator Station F.
This is because companies that previously boasted no official headquarters are now looking for a global headquarters.
“We will definitely have a regional headquarters in Europe in Paris,” Zhao said. “Before globalizing, we first set up some regional headquarters.”
Binance is currently licensed in Bahrain and Dubai and has interim approval in Abu Dhabi. In Europe, it is under the supervision of Lithuanian money laundering prevention regulators and seeks registration with the Swedish Financial Services Watchdog.
Is the United States late?
According to Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain company Ripple, not all regulators are responding to the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit in court alleging that Ripple, Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen have illegally sold over $ 1 billion in cryptocurrency XRP.
The SEC argues that XRP should be considered security and Ripple disagrees.
“When I advise entrepreneurs who are thinking about setting up a cryptocurrency or blockchain company, I tell them not to incorporate them into the United States,” Garlinghouse said. “The lack of clarity and certainty means that we are at risk of the exact type of proceedings the SEC has filed against us.”
Ripple is also considering moving its headquarters overseas, with London and Singapore as candidates.
“Ripple has hired more than 300 people this year, more than half of them outside the United States,” Garlinghouse said.
